Conventions & Trivia
Events
Themes
The Island
Historical Context
100
Who is the narrator?
Robinson Crusoe
100
Who suggests Crusoe leave home and go on board the ship?
Crusoe has a friend who is going by sea to London in his father's own ship and asks Crusoe to come along.
100
Robinson Crusoe is a meditation on ___________, and an argument for challenging traditional notions about that __________.
The Human Condition
100
Word meaning "to plant seeds"
Sow
100
This word describes people who moved from Europe to America
Immigrants
200
How does the ship's master contrast his reasons for going to sea with Crusoe's reasons?
He says this is his "calling," thus using a word that implies it is his destiny or vocation and therefore a duty. Crusoe was only making a "trial," and the captain interprets the storm as heaven's way of telling him it's a bad idea. The captain compares Crusoe to Jonah, whose presence on the ship bound away from Ninevah brings on a dangerous storm.
200
What makes Crusoe forget his vow to return home if God saves him from the first storm?
After the storm, his friend says that it wasn't that bad and suggests that they drink some punch. Crusoe becomes drunk and forgets his vow. Whenever he thinks of it again, he distracts himself with drink and friends.
200
Robinson must overcome THIS in order to survive his long ordeal on the deserted island
Fear
200
Which edible plants grew on the island after Crusoe threw the seeds away?
Barley
200
How long was Crusoe stranded on the island?
28 years and 2 months
300
What happens that makes Crusoe say his father's earlier prophecy has "come to pass"?
On the second trip to Guinea the ship is attacked and Crusoe is made the slave of the pirate captain. He is taken to Sallee where he remembers his father having earlier said that if men followed the middle way they would not be "sold as slaves for daily bread."
300
How does the ship's master contrast his reasons for going to sea with Crusoe's reasons?
He says this is his "calling," thus using a word that implies it is his destiny or vocation and therefore a duty. Crusoe was only making a "trial," and the captain interprets the storm as heaven's way of telling him it's a bad idea. The captain compares Crusoe to Jonah, whose presence on the ship bound away from Ninevah brings on a dangerous storm.
300
Consistent with Defoe's writings on economics, ______ is an important theme in Robinson Crusoe
Money
300
Crusoe is frightened in a cave when he sees whose eyes?
A goat's
300
What became a profitable endeavor for Europeans in the 1600's?
Slavery
400
What signs does Defoe give us that Crusoe is not suited for what his father calls "the middle way"?
Crusoe says that his mind has always been full of "rambling thoughts." Even after their serious conversation, Crusoe says the good effects of it "wore off" in a few days. Throughout the beginning of the novel it is clear that Crusoe is not moderate because he makes decisions quickly.
400
What is the purpose of Crusoe's voyage back to Guinea?
To buy slaves and take them back to Brazil
400
_____________ is defined here as a process whereby humans channel the forces of nature into the production and manufacture of goods for their economic consumption.This __________ is Crusoe's occupation, according to his cultural background and his religion. He immediately sets out to be productive and self-sufficient on the island.
Industrialization
400
To what does the name Benamuckee refer?
Friday’s god
400
What was a popular topic with writers during 17th Century Europe?
Adventures, society, heroic endeavors
500
***DAILY DOUBLE*** The narrative mode, also known as the mode of narration, is the set of methods the author of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical story uses to convey the plot to the audience. This encompasses several overlapping areas of concern, most importantly narrative point-of-view, which determines through whose perspective the story is viewed. What narrative mode does Daniel Defoe use to express the story of Robinson Crusoe and how does this differ from most books during this time period?
Robinson Crusoe is written from a first-person narrative in which the story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. Most books of this time were written from a third person perspective, as if a narrator was telling the story, but Robinson Crusoe was written as if Crusoe told the story directly. Also, most books during this time were romantic in nature, meaning that at least part of the story was a love story. However, the majority of Robinson Crusoe is about Crusoe living alone on the island.
500
What weakness in his own character does the older Crusoe who is narrating point out about his younger self?
Throughout the first chapter Crusoe has shown how his younger self refuses to listen to advice and acts rashly. At the end he explains that one reason he didn't go home was fear of being laughed at by his neighbors and shame at seeing his parents again. Defoe makes Crusoe's later insight clear in the chapter's final sentence, an early statement of the book's emphasis on moderation as the appropriate attitude in life.
500
Crusoe’s experiences constitute not simply an adventure story in which thrilling things happen, but also a moral tale illustrating ___________
The Necessity of Repentance; moral repentance
500
Why does Defoe portray the island originally as a place of captivity and then later as a desired destination?
Crusoe’s ordeal is not merely the adventure tale it seems at first, but a moral and religious illustration of the virtues of solitude and self-reliance. At the beginning, Crusoe can only perceive his isolation as a punishment. But after his religious illumination, and after he has turned an uninhabited island into a satisfying piece of real estate, he learns to relish his solitude.
500
***Daily Double*** What period was occurring in Europe whilst Crusoe was on the Island?
The Restoration Period
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